Children's home run by Stockport Supported Accommodation Service in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 1 SC039070 Registered provider: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by the local authority. It is registered to care for up to five children who may exhibit complex behaviours because of their childhood experiences. Four children were living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered by Ofsted in October 2003. The manager was registered by Ofsted in April 2020. She is suitably qualified and experienced.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 14 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2022 Full Good 16/09/2019 Full Good 31/07/2018 Full Good 05/07/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are looked after by staff who know them well. Staff are emotionally invested in the children and provide them with nurturing care. This helps children to make progress in their lives and have a positive experience of residential care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are caring for children of differing ages and with diverse needs, and different experiences prior to living at the home. Staff respond to the needs of each child individually. Staff read the younger children bedtime stories as part of their night- time routine. This contributes to children feeling valued and cared for. It provides them with one-to-one time with staff. Children are encouraged to develop their imaginations and to take an interest in stories and in reading more generally.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Decisions about children coming to live at the home are well considered. As a result, children live in a harmonious home environment. However, written assessments that support decision-making are not comprehensive. There is little evidence that the individual needs of each child or the skills of the staff team have been fully explored. The quality of these written assessments does not evidence the good practice that is in place. This has not adversely affected the quality of care of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have left the home since the last inspection have been helped to move on in a positive way. The support offered by staff enabled children to have positive endings to their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is well supported. All children are in school. There is effective communication between school staff and staff at the home. This helps children to receive a consistent response from the adults around them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Support from the local authority’s in-house psychologist and the speech and language therapist is used to inform children’s care. Staff are provided with information and support that helps them to provide trauma-informed care for children.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff work hard to keep children safe. One child who has now moved on from the home had a high number of missing-from-home incidents and was at risk in the community. Staff were integral to the multi-agency response to identify and reduce risks for this child.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children’s risk plans are comprehensive, regularly reviewed and support staff to care for children safely. Staff understand the vulnerabilities of the children living in the home. They support older children to build their practical skills and to develop their understanding of how to keep themselves safe as they approach adulthood. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 4 Children live in a positive environment where physical intervention is used infrequently. When staff do intervene, this is at a minimum level to keep children and staff safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Management oversight of staff holding children to keep them safe is not always robust. Records of post-incident discussions with children and staff are stored in a variety of places on the authority’s electronic recording system. Managers do not yet have an agreed system to review these incidents. As a result, some management evaluation of practice is significantly out of timescales.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Records of consequences received by children as a response to negative behaviours do not always have written management oversight. It is clear from consultations that the registered manager has had with the clinical psychologist that she has been involved in some reflective discussions about the appropriateness and effectiveness of these consequences for some children. This has also been shared with staff at team meetings to inform practice. However, individual children’s records do not reflect these discussions or this learning.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children’s care records are sometimes written in adult, professional language. This does not help children to understand or contribute to their own records.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff work in a sensitive and nurturing manner to support children who demonstrate their emotional distress through their behaviours. Staff provide non-judgemental and consistent care in circumstances which are sometimes emotionally and physically challenging. Children say they trust staff and always have someone they can talk to.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children live in a warm and welcoming home environment. Children’s bedrooms reflect their interests and personalities. However, staff routinely lock the internal kitchen door each night when they go to bed. This practice is not supported by any assessment of risk. As a result, children do not have access to all communal areas of their home as they should in a family environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children and staff benefit from consistent leadership and management. The registered manager and the responsible individual both support the staff team to deliver a good quality of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel valued and enjoy working at the home. One member of staff said, ‘I am always happy to come to work. We have a strong team and we do not give in. We pick each other up.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular individual supervisions and team meetings provide staff with the support and challenge they need to undertake their roles. Clinical input into team meetings informs and develops the child-centred practice that is evident in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have the training they need to meet children’s needs. Before one child came to live at the home, staff received training in relation to foetal alcohol syndrome Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 5 disorder. This has helped staff to understand some of the child’s behaviours and support the child in line with their care plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is working to embed a new electronic recording system in the home. This is not yet being used effectively and information is not always easily accessible. Leaders and managers are aware that improvements are needed to ensure that all staff working in the home are recording their work in a transparent and accountable manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide robust challenge to other professionals to ensure that effective care planning is in place for children. The registered manager is creative in her approach to meeting children’s needs and finding solutions to complex issues. This focus on the needs and well-being of each child being cared for in the home supports improved outcomes and experiences for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the kitchen is not locked at night and that any restriction of access for children to communal areas is time limited, follows a written assessment of risk and is regularly reviewed. 30 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is 30 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 7 authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that pre-admission records clearly reflect the discussions that take place prior to children moving into the home, with clear rationale for decision-making. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 38, paragraph 8.3)  The registered person should ensure that their evaluation of the appropriateness and effectiveness of consequences used in the home is evidenced in children’s written records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that staff record information in a timely manner, using language which is helpful for children and encourages them to read, understand and contribute to their own care history. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Spend and Provider Management Hub, Upper Ground Floor, Stopford House, Piccadilly, Stockport SK1 3XE

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Inspector

Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 9 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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